KPNQwest to Offer DSL Throughout Europe

With an eye to what it calls a $7 billion market, KPNQwest Tuesday outlined plans to roll out DSL services throughout Europe.

The joint venture between Qwest Communications (QWST) and KPN will start the initial DSL rollout in Germany by the middle of next year. By the end of the deployment, KPNQwest (KQIP) expects to have a presence in 25 cities throughout nine countries in Europe, with the goal of bringing broadband and enhanced Net services to small- and medium-sized businesses in Europe as well as its current corporate clientel.

The deal will lean heavily on KPNQwest’s fiber optic Internet backbone and facility centers in the region, which spans through 39 cities in Europe. Additional builds to the network are expected to be completed by 2001.

Germany tops the list of deployment because the local loop in the country has already been opened and regulators have established a process for DSL equipment location, thanks in part to the breakup of Deutsche Telekom. KPNQuest has recieved licenses to operate and co-locate equipment in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Koln and Munich.

“This is the first of KPNQwest’s broadband access initiatives,” said Jack McMaster, KPNQwest’s President and CEO. “I truly believe that this is a major step forward in delivering the Internet economy to European business, that massively stimulates the demand for the fiber optic network and CyberCenter hosting assets that we are constructing.”

Other countries listed in the planned DSL rollout are Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Italy, France, and the UK, and through KPN transfers, in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg.

Last week, Qwest completed its high-speed fiber optic and broadband build in Canada, and is now set to offer advanced IP services to Canadian businesses.